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Despite the men’s football team’s impressive and ongoing journey at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Morocco’s participation in the Olympics has left many disappointed as several Moroccan athletes faced early disqualification and left the competition to return home.
The situation has sparked outrage, with critics concerned about the loss of representation and the impact on the country’s Olympic ambitions.
The early eliminations have affected multiple sports and categories.
On July 27, Moroccan swimmer Ilias El Fallaki failed to qualify for the next stage of the 400-meter freestyle.
He was eliminated despite finishing first in his heat as the competition system relies on times rather than positions.
He completed the 400 meters freestyle in 4:01.59 but only the top eight times from this round qualified for the final.
Meanwhile, Moroccan fencer Houssam El Kord failed to pass the round of 32 in the individual epee event on Sunday last week. He was defeated by Kazakh fencer Ruslan Kurbanov.
Fencer Youssra Zakarani was also unable to defeat her Polish opponent Jelinska Martyna.
Moroccan judokas, including Soumiya Iraoui and Abderrahmane Boushita, were also defeated and eliminated early in their tournament.
Rower Majdouline El Allaoui also faced disappointment after she was unable to advance to the quarterfinals finishing fifth in the repechage with a time of 8:42.07.
Swimmer Imane El Bardo, competing in the 100-meter breaststroke, was also eliminated in the heats despite finishing second in her initial heat.Her time was not enough to enable her to advance to the semifinals.
The performances at Paris 2024 did not match the celebrated history of Morocco’s past Olympic achievements.
Since its Olympic debut in Rome in 1960, Morocco has competed in 14 games, excelling in athletics and boxing.
The North African country notably earned a total of 24 medals, seven gold, five silver, and 12 bronze.
This makes the country the second most successful Arab country in Olympic history after Egypt.
As the competition progresses, some Moroccan participants have successfully secured spots in advanced stages at different categories.
The shadow of elimination, however, looms larger than the thrill of victories.
What went wrong?
As defeats of Moroccan athletes were louder than celebrations, many Moroccans expressed disappointment over the situation.
While some fans express their anger and disappointment with hated remarks, others use sarcasm and memes to mirror their dissatisfactions.
Observers and analysts point to a variety of factors contributing to the results, highlighting the lack of a sports strategy and the overwhelming dominance of football in Morocco.
In an interview today, Sports policy specialist Moncef El Yazghi told Morocco World News (MWN) that countries entering similar competitions — particularly Olympics — are aware of the challenges presented and that’s why a need for a clear strategy is a must.
“It must be acknowledged that when you enter the Olympic Games, you join a vast field comprising around 211 countries,” El Yazghi told MWN, adding that some countries have a clear strategy.
He further stressed that this strategy also allows countries to forecast and estimate the number of medals they are set to achieve.
“Sometimes, countries even announce in advance that their target is, for example, five medals, 10 medals, or 40 medals,” he said, noting that the situation does not rely on chances or miracles. “It is calculated in advance with a small margin of error, not exceeding 1% for unexpected surprises.”
Lack of comprehensive strategy
The researcher in sports policies acknowledged that the fate of Morocco’s olympics journey has long been known, stating: “In Morocco’s 60th participation, it is known that, in the best scenarios, Morocco will not exceed 2 to 3 medals unless there is a surprise and it could be even less.”
According to the analyst, Morocco still relies on specific sports and has failed to strengthen or support other sporting categories.
El Yazghi further cited football dominance in Morocco’s sports categories, but also highlighted how football has not achieved any significant accomplishments in the Olympics during the country’s eight previous participations.
Morocco also relies on athletics and boxing, with 24 medals distributed between the two disciplines — namely 20 in athletics and 4 in boxing. But this medal tally is very modest considering that the kingdom first appeared in the Olympics in 1960, he added.
He recalls the last time Morocco took part in the event, when the country only won one medal thanks to the efforts of Moroccan champion Soufiane El Bakkali.
“This situation highlights a point I have been making for 15 years: We lack a comprehensive sports strategy that covers all sports. Instead, we have initiatives and some efforts, but no overarching vision,” he explained.
El Yazghi lamented the absence of some sports and Moroccan teams from the competition, including basketball and handball.
“Why are other sports, which could potentially yield medals, missing?” he asked, suggesting that the North African country puts its focus on specific sports that may or may not succeed.
The analyst stressed how qualification to certain competitions are considered achievement without taking into account how the participation and the country will be represented instead.
“Since 2008, despite the MAD 330 billion support provided by the King, we haven’t seen the development of champions,” he said, noting that creating a champion takes over six years.
“It cannot be done in just one or two days,” he said, stressing that the same importance given to football should be provided to other “underdeveloped” sports categories.
Athletics, an embarrassment for Morocco
Moroccan athleticism has faced several setbacks over the years, and the dismal and noncompetitive conditioning of most Moroccan athletes was once again humiliatingly exposed at the ongoing Olympics in Paris. This genre of sports “perhaps” is the area that “embarasses us the most,” El Yazghi said.
Citing Morocco’s past achievements in the competition, he especially recalled the country’s first medal achieved by Abdeslam Radi in 1960 as well as other notable achievements in 1984 when Morocco ranked 18th with two medals from Said Aouita and Nawal Motawakel.
“At that time, we claimed Morocco specialized in athletics, but it has become clear that this specialization does not extend beyond one or two athletes, or three at most, as was the case in Sydney in 2000,” he said.
While Morocco has claimed over the years to be interested in developing the sport that has given the country the most Olympic medals (20 in total), El Yazghi questioned the lack of a real focus on athletics in Morocco.
“The issue is the complete absence and significant decline in athletics over the past 20 years,” he added, saying: “How did it regress to the point where we are now relying on just one ro two athletes.”
El Yazghi acknowledged that Morocco’s image in athletics remained strong over the years despite the challenges, noting that the issue needs to be examined.
“Is it a matter of resources? I don’t think so. Is it a technical issue? We have great coaches. The problem may lie in management and equipment,” he said.
Morocco took a delegation of 60 athletes to the Paris 2024 Olympics, representing the country in 19 different sports like football, boxing, and athletics.
Given Morocco’s history of winning 24 medals at the Olympic Games, 20 in athletics and four in boxing, Moroccan fans and observers have been betting on boxing and athletics to give Morocco the most medals at this year’s Games.
Yet this dream of securing multiple medals has been dashed as a result of early elimination for the large majority of Moroccan representatives. Moroccans still hold hope in Soufiane El Bakkali and several participants who remain in contention for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Games.
In addition to lacking a clear vision for promoting other sports, most of Morocco’s existing designated sports federations lack the necessary resources to develop champions in their disciplines, El Yazghi concluded.
“Some federations operate with such small budgets that it is almost embarrassing to mention,” he fumed, noting that this led to weak participation and inadequate preparations.
